Improvement in mowing-machines



E. BALL.

' Harvester.

Patented Dec. I, 1857.

end being pivoted to a sickle, O, working beiUNirEn STATES PATENTOFFICE.

E. BALL, OF CANTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JOHN BUTLER,

OF BUFFALO,

NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN MOWING-MAC HINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 15,788, dated December1, 1857.

To all. 'whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, E. BALL, of Canton, in the county of Stark and Stateof Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inGrass-Harvesters, better known as Balls Improved Ohio Mower, andIdohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andsufiicientdescription thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, makingpart of the same, of which- Figure 1 is a side view of my improvedmachine. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan or top viewof the same. Fig.4is a detached view of one of the pinions and a portionof one of the spur-wheels, the pawl and ratchet of the pinion beingshown. Fig. 5 is a detached plan or top view of one of the pinions.

My invention consists in a peculiar manner of attaching the finger-barto the frame of the machine.

The frame of the machine, A, is of rectangular form, and is supported bytwo drivingwheels, B B, each of which has a separate axle, O, and also aspur-wheel, D, secured to the inner sides of the spokes and gearing intoa pinion, E. Both of these pinions are placed loosely on the ends of ahorizontal shaft, F, which runs in suitable hearings, to a, on the frameA. To this shaft F there are permanently secured two caps, G, withineach of which a pawl, b, is secured, and these pawls catch into theteeth of ratchets H H,'which are attached to the inner sides of thepinions E E. (See Figs. 4. and 5.) The pawls have small springs 0directly over them, oneover each, which keep them in the teeth of theratchet.

I is a bevel-toothed wheel, securely attached to the shaft F. The wheelI gears into a bevelpinion, J, at the upper end of an inclined shaft, K,which runs in suitable bearings, 11 d, attached to the frame A. Directlyback of the pinion J, on the shaft K, there is a fly or balance wheel,L, which serves to prevent little irregularities in the action of themachine, or of its wheels, from affecting the action of the sickle. Atthe lower end of the shaft there is a crank-pulley, M, to which one endof a connecting-rod, N, is attached, the opposite tween fingers e 6 uponthe finger-bar P.

To the inner end of the finger-bar P there is rigidly secured at a rightangle an inclined bar, Q, the upper end of which is attached to a smallrod,f, by a pivot, g, forming a joint or hinge, the rodf being itselfsecured within a cylindrical socket, h,'by a nut, h, screwed upon theend of said rod, which has a thread cut thereon for this purpose. Thesocket h is fastened to the under side of the front crosspiece, t, ofthe frame, the bar Q, therefore running lengthwise of the frame and atits side, as shown in the drawings. Q

To the inner end of the finger-bar P the brace-rod It is connected by apivot, j, the outer end of said brace-rod being attached to the backpart-of the frame A by a pivot, 7:.

As the machine is drawn along the drivingwheels B B of course move inthe direction indicated by arrow 1, Fig. 4, and the spur- Wheels D 1),moving in the same direction, cause the pinions E E to move in thedirection of arrow 1. The teeth of the ratchets H H, catching againstthe pawls 1), cause the shaft F to rotate, and motion is therebycommunicated to the sickle 0 through the shaft K and connecting-rod N.In case of the machine being moved backward, the sickle O is notoperated, as the spurs and pinions then move in the directions indicatedby arrows 2 and 2, and the teeth of the ratchets H H slip underneaththeir respective pawls. The cutter-bar P is permitted to rise and fallbodily, or either end may rise and fall according to the irregularitiesof the ground, in consequence of its connection to the frame A by thebar Q, for the upper end of said bar is connected to the frame by auniversal joint, the pivot g allowing the finger-bar and bar Q. to riseand fall bodily, and the ability of the rodfto turn in the socket. hpermitting either end to rise and fall, the brace-rod R serving tosteady the finger-bar while it is moved and to prevent it from beingwrenched out of place by the resistance of the grass or of obstacles;and thus the fingerbar is, under all circumstances, at liberty toconform to the unevenness of the ground, and consequently the sicklewill perform its work better and with greater uniformity than itotherwise could do.

I am aware that I am not the first to hang the linger-bar from the mainframe, so that it can yield to the inequalities of the ground. This hasbeen done by prolonging the finger-bar, ing is combined with a firmconnection, and at or by attaching to it another bar prolonged beyondand in the rear of the main frame and driving-wheels, as in the case ofthe harvester of Jonathan Haines, patented September 4, 1855, (the whichin all its parts I entirely disclaim,) the finger-bar, as thus extended,being hung from the front cross-piece of the frame by rods, the ends ofwhich are hooked in staples respectively to the extended finger-bar andto the front cross-piece. The chief objection to this arraugementjs thatas the machine passes over the grass already cut,

which is left spread upon the ground at the previous passage of thesickle, the extension of the finger-bar pushes it up before it, andfinally takes it up and carries it along until it falls off inlargequantities, thus heaping the grass and preventing it from drying sothoroughly. At the same time this gathering of grass by choking thecrank in front of it either renders the working of the sickle veryditficult or stops it altogether. This difficulty, it is obvious, cannotoccur where (as in my improvement) the finger-bar ends on the inner sideof the machine, and is soattached by the brace-rod R and therigidly-attached bar Q that perfect freedom of motion in rising andfallthe same time leaves the ground entirely free in the rear of thedriving-wheels and within the line described by the forward motion ofthe inner end of the sickle, as shown. The broad and rigid attachment ofthe inclined bar Q to the finger-bar P so firmly supports and vholds thelatter in place that'the objections stantially as and for the purposeabove set forth.

In testimony whereofl have hereunto set my hand before two subscribingwitnesses.

E. BALL.

' Witnesses:

DAVID SLANKs, PERCY S. SOWERS.

